Location-Based Comfort Zone Control for Faster HVAC Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional comfort device control systems, such as heating and cooling systems, do not consider user location or presence, leading to inefficient energy usage and delayed temperature setpoint achievement, as they provide services to unused areas, resulting in waste and prolonged heating or cooling of entire buildings.
Innovation Solution
A method that establishes zones based on user location using mobile devices, such as smartphones or GPS, to control comfort devices like space heating and cooling systems, ensuring services are provided only where needed, by determining user presence and demand within these zones, and adjusting settings accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional control systems provide heating or cooling to the entire building, then the building can be maintained at a comfortable temperature, but energy is wasted in areas where users are not present and the system takes longer to achieve the setpoint temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The building is divided into multiple zones, each with its own comfort device and control mechanism. The control system segments the building into serviceable areas based on user presence detection, allowing independent control of heating/cooling in each zone rather than treating the entire building as a single unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses mobile devices already carried by users to detect their presence and automatically triggers comfort services in their current location. The system serves itself by utilizing the users' own devices for detection, eliminating the need for additional complex detection infrastructure.
2Loss of time
If the comfort device services the entire building, then all areas are covered, but the time to achieve comfortable temperature is prolonged due to heating or cooling unused areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects user presence in advance and pre-conditions the specific zone where the user is located before they fully arrive or before they need comfort services. This preliminary targeting of specific zones rather than the entire building accelerates temperature achievement in occupied areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system applies different temperature control strategies to different zones based on local user presence. Zones with detected users receive active heating or cooling, while unoccupied zones maintain ambient conditions, creating locally optimized temperature control that reduces overall system response time.
3Reliability
If the system provides heating or cooling to unused areas, then complete building coverage is achieved, but heat escapes through the building shell and cooling becomes ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the comfort service provision from the entire building and concentrates it only in the specific zones where users are present. By removing the unnecessary heating or cooling from unoccupied areas, the system eliminates the waste of heat escaping through the building shell and prevents cooling inefficiency in unused spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a comfort device having at least one effector capable of meeting the demand of at least a user, the method includes establishing at least one zone in which at least one service of a comfort device is provided; associating the at least one effector of the comfort device with the least one zone; determining the presence of the at least one user in the at least one zone; and controlling the comfort device to meet the demand of the at least one user.